Standardized print formats and copier material of different standardized width is generally used for the manufacture of photographic copies, independent of the respectively used technology.
In so-called analog minilabs which operate with conventional illumination, the pictures are one after another projected onto the photographic copier material in the sequence of the image originals on the strip of negatives. Prerequisite for the production of a print of a desired format is the availability of a copier material of corresponding width in the copier. When the required print format cannot be achieved with the copier material axially available in the copier, a copier material change must be carried out by the operating personnel.
An additional degree of freedom results in so-called digital minilabs which produce prints by recording (exposure, printing) image information present in digital form pixel by pixel onto a suited carrier material (photographic or print paper). These apparatus also permit the recording of the image information onto the carrier material in an orientation rotated by 90.degree. from a normal orientation, so that one and the same carrier material can be used when either the length or the width of the print format to be manufactured corresponds to the width of the carrier material. However, when that is not the case, a change of carrier material is also required.
A change of the carrier material generally requires the interruption of the print production process and thereby reduces the productivity of the print-producing apparatus (copier). The time required for the processing of a number of prints is determined by the number of carrier material changes which must be carried out by the operating personnel. As soon as the further processing requires print formats which cannot be achieved with the axially available carrier material, the processing is again interrupted because of the newly required carrier material change.